December 2018 gave the Sun & Moon era one of its defining Tag Teams: Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, printed in Tag Bolt (SM9) about two months ahead of the set’s English release as Team Up. Two months later, a junior player named Haruki Miyamoto rode a “Pikarom Judge” build to a World Championship title, and the card has been a collector staple ever since.
The catch is that “Pikachu & Zekrom-GX” is not one card — it’s a ladder of four chase printings (plus a plain reprint) that range from a common-feeling regular rare to a special art secret rare with current asks running up to ¥1.5 million. Mixing them up is an easy — and expensive — mistake, so this guide separates the printings first, then walks through the deck’s 2019 legacy and the best standalone Zekrom cards worth chasing alongside it. We source Japanese singles and sealed product out of Tokyo, so the pricing below reflects what we actually see move through our own listings and the current secondary market.
Our own PSA10 Pikachu & Zekrom-GX SR (100/095) (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) is currently listed at ¥92,082, and our PSA10 Zekrom R 1st Edition (CP2 009/027) (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) is currently listed at ¥97,849. Neither is the ultra-rare Special Art 101/095 — that printing is a different card entirely, and current market asks for it run ¥830,000–¥1,500,000.
SM9 Tag Bolt and the Four Pikachu & Zekrom-GX Printings
Tag Bolt released in Japan on December 7, 2018, a 95-card base set plus secret rares, built around the GX era’s Tag Team mechanic — two Pokemon sharing one card, one attack list, and one oversized GX move. It reached English collectors two months later as Team Up. Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, a 240 HP Lightning-type with the Full Blitz attack (フルドライブ in Japanese) and the Tag Bolt-GX move, was the set’s headline card, and it was printed across three rarities within Tag Bolt itself before getting a fourth treatment the following year.
| Printing | Rarity | Illustrator | Set | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 031/095 | RR (Regular Rare) | Mitsuhiro Arita | SM9 Tag Bolt (2018) | The standard-frame version |
| 100/095 | SR Full Art | 5ban Graphics | SM9 Tag Bolt (2018) | The card we stock — see below |
| 101/095 | SA Special Art | kawayoo | SM9 Tag Bolt (2018) | Grail tier, current asks ¥830K–¥1.5M |
| 221/173 | UR (gold) | — | SM12a Tag All Stars (2019) | Reprinted a year later — see below |
All four printings share the same attack text and artwork subject — a joyful Pikachu riding on Zekrom’s back — but the market treats them as four completely separate cards, and the price gaps between them are enormous. The rest of this guide works through each one in order of what you’re likely to actually be shopping for.
The Card We Stock: SR Full Art 100/095
The 100/095 SR is Tag Bolt’s standard full art secret rare — full-bleed artwork, gold GX branding, no white border, illustrated by 5ban Graphics. It’s the printing most international buyers picture when they hear “Pikachu & Zekrom-GX,” and it’s the one we currently carry graded PSA10 at ¥92,082.
Current PSA10 asks for 100/095 on the secondary market range from roughly ¥85,000 to ¥149,890, with the raw (ungraded) card listing around ¥17,800. Our ¥92,082 listing sits within that current ask band — it is not the cheapest copy on the market, but it sits inside the current ask range for graded copies.
View Product → (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order)
The Grail Tier: Special Art 101/095
100/095 (SR, 5ban Graphics) and 101/095 (SA, kawayoo) are both printed as SR-rarity secret rares in the set numbering, which is exactly why they get mixed up. They are different cards with different illustrators and radically different values. Our ¥92,082 listing is the 100/095 SR — we do not currently stock the 101/095 Special Art.
The 101/095 Special Art, illustrated by kawayoo, is the printing that made Tag Bolt a genuinely chased set nearly eight years after release. Where 100/095 is a conventional full art treatment, the Special Art reworks the entire card in a painted, illustration-forward style that Japanese collectors rate as one of the strongest SM-era secret rares. Current market asks for a graded PSA10 copy run ¥830,000 to ¥1,500,000, putting it in the same tier as the era’s most sought-after alternate arts rather than its GX chase cards.
We don’t currently hold Special Art 101/095 in stock, but we regularly source vintage and modern grail-tier singles for buyers through our Quick Order page — it’s the fastest way to flag a specific card and have us track down a copy from the Japanese market.
PikaRom’s 2019 Competitive Legacy
Pikachu & Zekrom-GX’s collector appeal isn’t purely aesthetic — the card had a genuine tournament run in 2019. Haruki Miyamoto won the Junior division of the 2019 Pokemon World Championships playing a “Pikarom Judge” list built around the card, a result significant enough that Pokemon later featured the deck in official World Championship Deck coverage.
The deck leaned on Pikachu & Zekrom-GX’s Full Blitz attack — which loads up to three Energy onto your Pokemon while dealing damage — paired with disruption from Judge-style supporter cards, and it remains one of the more frequently cited Tag Team decks from the format’s peak year. Pokemon’s own strategy team covered the archetype in a dedicated article shortly after Team Up’s English release, which is worth a read if you want the mechanical breakdown rather than the collecting angle.
That competitive pedigree matters to collectors because Pikachu & Zekrom-GX has both a tournament story and four collectible art treatments feeding demand at once.
The Gold Reprint: UR 221/173 in Tag All Stars
Ten months after Tag Bolt, Pikachu & Zekrom-GX returned in Tag All Stars (SM12a), released in Japan on October 4, 2019 with a 173-card base set. Alongside a straightforward reprint at 041/173, the set gave the card a gold-foil Ultra Rare treatment at 221/173 — the full card wrapped in Tag All Stars’ signature gold-foil border, one of the set’s most recognizable chase pulls.
This UR is currently out of stock in our own inventory; a graded PSA10 copy last listed at ¥141,110, and it’s a common request through our restock queue. If you’re specifically after the gold-foil version rather than the Tag Bolt originals, the Quick Order page is the way to flag it for sourcing.
Best Standalone Zekrom Cards
Outside the Tag Team era, Zekrom has two standalone Japanese printings worth knowing — one vintage, one current — and we stock the vintage one graded PSA10.
The CP2 Legendary Shine Collection Zekrom (009/027) comes from a Japan-only concept pack released in July 2015, a 27-card set built entirely around Legendary Pokemon and illustrated in this instance by Naoki Saito. It’s a straightforward 1st Edition Rare rather than a secret rare, but the CP2 set has aged into a genuinely collected vintage release — the same set that produced the Dialga 017/027 card we cover in our Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR guide.
Our graded PSA10 copy is currently listed at ¥97,849. Current PSA10 asks for this card span ¥94,999 to ¥198,000 across five listings we tracked, meaning our price sits below all but the lowest current ask on the market.
| Card | Set | Year | Illustrator | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zekrom R 1ED (009/027) | CP2 Legendary Shine Collection | July 2015 | Naoki Saito | PSA10 currently listed ¥97,849 |
| Zekrom ex SAR (169/086) | SV11B Black Bolt | 2025 | danciao | PSA10 out of stock, last listed ¥43,239 |
The modern counterpart is Zekrom ex Special Art Rare (169/086) from Black Bolt (SV11B), released in Japan on June 6, 2025 with artwork by danciao — a current-generation alternate art treatment built for the Scarlet & Violet era rather than a vintage chase card. It’s currently out of stock on our end; graded PSA10 copies last listed at ¥43,239, and it’s a frequent flag on our restock queue for collectors building a full Zekrom lineup alongside the CP2 original.
SM9’s Other Chase Cards
Tag Bolt’s Special Art tier extends beyond Pikachu & Zekrom-GX. The set’s other headline Tag Team, Celebi & Venusaur-GX SA (097/095) illustrated by Shin Nagasawa, sits alongside a third Special Art — Magikarp & Wailord-GX SA (099/095) — that’s become one of the set’s quieter grails. A graded PSA10 copy last listed at ¥317,034 and is currently out of stock in our inventory, but it’s a card we can source on request.
For collectors chasing the set as a whole rather than a single card, a sealed SM9 Tag Bolt booster box last carried a listed value of ¥383,250 — a useful reference point for what unopened Tag Bolt product commands nearly eight years after release, even though we don’t currently hold sealed boxes in stock. Between the RR, two Special Arts, and the gold UR reprint a year later, Tag Bolt is one of the more layered sets from the SM era to collect fully.
Where to Buy Pikachu & Zekrom-GX and Zekrom Cards from Japan
We ship graded and raw Japanese singles, plus sealed product, worldwide from Tokyo with tracked delivery. Our own listings above cover the two printings currently in stock; anything marked out of stock — the Special Art 101/095, the Tag All Stars UR, the Zekrom ex SAR, or the Magikarp & Wailord Special Art — can be flagged for sourcing through Quick Order.
- PSA10 Pikachu & Zekrom-GX SR (100/095) (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) — ¥92,082, currently listed
- PSA10 Zekrom R 1st Edition (CP2 009/027) (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) — ¥97,849, currently listed
- Full PSA10 graded collection
- PSA10 card list hub — browse graded inventory by set
- Quick Order — request the Special Art, the UR, or any out-of-stock printing
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 100/095 the same card as the Pikachu & Zekrom Special Art?
No. 100/095 is the SR full art illustrated by 5ban Graphics; 101/095 is a separate Special Art secret rare illustrated by kawayoo. Both are numbered within the same 95-card Tag Bolt base set and both carry an SR-tier rarity marking, which is why they’re frequently confused, but current market asks for the Special Art run ¥830,000–¥1,500,000, roughly ten times the full art’s range.
How much is a PSA10 Pikachu & Zekrom-GX SR worth?
Our own PSA10 100/095 is currently listed at ¥92,082. Current PSA10 asks for this printing on the broader market range from roughly ¥85,000 to ¥149,890, so our listing sits within that band.
Did Pikachu & Zekrom-GX win a World Championship?
Haruki Miyamoto won the Junior division of the 2019 Pokemon World Championships playing a “Pikarom Judge” deck built around this card. Pokemon later covered the archetype in official World Championship Deck strategy content.
What is the best standalone Zekrom card?
For a vintage pull, the CP2 Legendary Shine Collection Zekrom (009/027, July 2015, illustrated by Naoki Saito) is the strongest standalone option — we stock a PSA10 copy currently listed at ¥97,849. For a current-era alternate art, Zekrom ex SAR (169/086) from 2025’s Black Bolt, illustrated by danciao, is the modern equivalent, though we’re currently out of stock on that printing.
When was SM9 Tag Bolt released?
Tag Bolt released in Japan on December 7, 2018, with 95 base cards plus secret rares. Its English equivalent, Team Up, released internationally on February 1, 2019.
Is there a gold version of Pikachu & Zekrom-GX?
Yes — a gold-foil Ultra Rare at 221/173 appeared in Tag All Stars (SM12a), released in Japan on October 4, 2019, about ten months after the original Tag Bolt printings. It’s currently out of stock in our inventory; a graded PSA10 copy last listed at ¥141,110.
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